projectdarkstarfandomcom-20200214-history
The Netherworld
The Netherworld exists on a plane of existence parallel to Earth, and like Earth is divided among many nations that are often in conflict. Demons are much less capable of creating large, complex societies than humans, and the dangers of the Netherworld have left large swathes of land untamed. Shortly after the Demon War a strange, corrosive fog settled over the land, thicker in some places than others, that curses all but a lucky few demons with significantly shorter lives. Magic is common among all demons, but knowledge between nations is not shared frequently, and is usually stolen through espionage or conquest. Different regions of the Netherworld can have vast differences in magic and technology. Feel free to add your own territories and locations! Rex Territories A Demon Rex controls large territories, the analogue of a "superpower" on Earth. Demon Rexes usually come to power by consolidating many smaller territories or by killing a pre-existing Demon Rex. Being a Demon Rex means being recognized as a potential threat by other Rexes, which means you get invited to their meetings. Demon Rexes are expected to uphold certain traditions designed to keep the planet from falling into chaos, including settling any personal grievences with other Rexes through duels with specific rules, including petty exchanges of territory. Sadly these systems fail often, a predictable result of forging power through magical strength in a species who draw strength from passion and emotion. Territories are organized from least recent to most recent changes in rule. Dongguo Capital: '''Impending Doom City '''Demon Rex: Lady Tulia the Seer Description: '''Formerly a collection of small micronations and city-states, Dongguo was founded recently when a demon named Lady Tulia conquered and consolidated these lands to form a decently sized empire on the coast of the Existential Dread Sea. Some of the demons she defeated, though not Rexes, were pretty feared demons, from the Soukiller Lord Dmiter to the Pirate Lich Rattlebones to the Screamo Quartet Hivemind "Throaty and the three other physically and mentally identical Throaties", and she defeated them all through mysterious circumstances. While Zyngolia is famous for its advanced technology, Dongguo is most famous for the extremely technical and specific magic that it exports. I wouldn't recommend buying wands or staves there, though. Dongguo is a fairly nice place to live as Tulia is a fair and generous ruler that guards her territory with complex illusions rather than armies and weapons and attracts citizens with free eduacation and whores rather than enslavement or conquest. '''Reputation: Tulia is considered hella suspicious by the other Rexes, and considering her unwillingness to duel other Rexes, it's pretty much common knowledge that she's not as powerful as she says she is. Her citizens believe Tulia has the ability to repel any attack thrown at her onto the attacker, but it's easy to convince people that when you directly control their media and education. Her interest in Earth is also extremely suspicious, and her ambiguous species is also crazy suspicious. Her skeletal dong throne is pretty much par for the course in the Netherworld, though. Zyngolia Capital: New Despair Demon Rex: The "Thief King" Aubrics '''Description: '''A small but extremely wealthy nation that changed hands five years ago when some masked upstart from nowhere named 'Aubrics' killed the the previous leader and claimed the land for his own, and nobody really questioned it that much because he hasn't done that bad of a job so far. Even before Aubrics, Avaritia was known for its massive trade of crystalized aritificial human souls, named "Espers", far more powerful than an actual human soul per unit and much easier to come by. Avaritia's cheap, clean energy is what keeps the modern Netherworld running. The nation is also famous for its extreme state of technological advancement, with Blade Runner-esque metropolises surrounding the capital. Unlike Espers these technologies are guarded and regulated carefully to keep it from falling into the hands of other nations, and is kept close near the capital, with the exception of some software and shitty video games. The main change Aubrics has made is letting technology spread to the poorer outskirts of Avaritia. When asked if he was worried about their secrets being stolen during petty exchanges of territory, Aubrics responded "Very soon we'll never have to worry about anything like that ever again" extremely suspiciously. What a card! The citizens of Zyngolia are fairly addicted to one of Aubrics' latest additions to Zyngolia culture, an online system in which citizens voluntarily tax themselves playing video games embedded in the government's stock market/social network/video games hybrid website. '''Reputation: '''While Aubrics is obviously hiding something, like Tulia (and all Rexes for that matter), he's far more tolerated because he is a predictable thing they have all seen before. He got his power "the right way", through a dramatic display of outrageous physical power, and his involvement in Earth is well-understood, he's trading with Earth for money. He's a familiar, known quantity that other Rexes are comfortable dealing with, despite his immaturity and disguised body. Even his powers are simple and understandble: he can control gold. Big fucking deal. Despite his choleric temper and